How battery start-up Enevate plans to leverage Biden’s $ 10 million plan to crack fast-charging electric cars

• Some battery startups are hoping to cash in on Biden’s $ 10 million plan to increase fast charging.
• Enevate goes under the radar and has been developing its solution for 16 years.
• Now he plans to leverage investments from LG Chem and Panasonic to secure government funding.
• See more stories on the Insider business page.

President Joe Biden wants to spend $ 10 million on fast-charging battery technology to drive adoption of electric vehicles, and one startup in particular is poised to capitalize on potential government largesse.

While many of the the best startups in the battery space have expressed little interest in raising public funds, the fast-charging-focused Enevate is ready to use its $ 200 million private funding to ramp up production and become an attractive target for government funding.

“This is an important initiative. I think we have a role to play and want to contribute to it, ”said Kevin Schrantz, head of sales and marketing, of the president’s goals.

The Irvine, Calif.-Based startup offers a cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion cells by creating a more energy-dense silicon solution for battery makers. Essentially, he’s replacing a key part of the car’s battery – the anode – with what he calls a safer, cheaper, and more efficient material.

Enevate landed its first funding round in 2008 and has since raised money from investors like Panasonic, LG Chem and the Renault-Mitsubishi-Nissan alliance.

The startup has a lot of credibility to bring to the space, according to PitchBook mobility analyst Asad Hussain. “They take advantage of existing manufacturing facilities, so it’s not such a cumbersome process to switch to their technology,” he told Insider.

In addition to cutting costs by producing technology that can adapt to existing production tools, Enevate promises to save customers money by using less material in its cells, aiming for a low-carbon product that does not rely on lithium-ion.

“I think this is a very important tipping point for the industry,” Hussain said. “And I think if they can make their vision a reality, they could be in a very good position to benefit from the rising tide of electrification.”

Enevate has been working on commercializing its cells for about 15 years and the startup is nearing the start of achieving that goal, according to Schrantz.

“What we can’t put our finger on just yet is if there is money for technology development that we could help harness,” Schrantz told Insider. “Or if we could be a supplier for someone who got the money to develop at the battery level.”

And the company is hoping that if it can’t access the direct cash flow from Biden’s plan, some of the funding will trickle down and bring its fast-charging solution to future hordes of electric vehicles.